More colleagues are gaining valuable insights to improve patient care, thanks to a project designed to involve additional staff in important case review meetings.
Senior community nursing colleagues at Kent Community Health NHS Foundation Trust said they did not always receive the learning that comes following mortality reviews. But after changes were made, team representation at the reviews has almost doubled, end of life champions are attending more and learning across the team has been strengthened.
The quality improvement (QI) project focused on involving more colleagues, rather than the discussion being limited to a small group, meaning learnings were not always reaching the wider workforce.
As a result of the work colleagues say they now have a better understanding of themes emerging from reviews, such as communication, care planning and recognising deterioration. Also, teams feel more involved and reassured that learning is being used constructively to support safer, more consistent care.
The project team included Assistant Director of Quality and Governance Annemarie Hirst, Nurse Consultant End of Life Care Heather Harrison, Head of Patient Safety Denise Hylton-McIntosh, Mortality Review Programme Co-ordinator Tatum Mallard and Business Support Manager Kim Ebbatson.
Denise Hylton-McIntosh said: “We did the project because sharing learning is vital. Thanks to this work we now have processes that strengthen ongoing learning and sharing, to sustain improvements.”
Find out more on the KCHFT QI website HERE
You can read and download the project summary HERE